Children of Mandalore: Honorable Discharge
by Christopher Allen McDade
Summary: Tyran Numeck was a former member of an elite group of Mandalorians soldiers, but swore off that life after seeing to much death and destruction. ten years pass and he finds himself dragged back into that life only to loose more than he ever imagined. R
1. Chapter 1

**Authors Note**

**I originally wrote this story for the website .net under the name Mando-Man I'm also the author of Casualties of War and Out for Blood on that website as well. I have not stolen this story in any way, if you've read any of those stories on .net and believe that I have stolen another authors work, feel free to send me a PM on .net and I shall respond**

**With that said I present**

**Children of Mandalore: Honorable Discharge**

**Chapter One:****  
**  
_Kuat Housing district 997 ten years after the Yuuzhan Vong war_

"Ijaat, stay away from that akk hound." Tyran Numeck said to his five year old son. 

The Yuuzhan Vong war had been the end of the line for Tyran as far a military life went, the rest of his unit had continued on under Galactic Alliance employment doing black ops or things of that nature. Tyran had moved on and completely turned his back on his Mandalorian heritage, loosing a father and a mother to the Vongese was enough to make him leave the only life he knew. His and his wife's armor and weapons were locked away in a storage compartment on Coruscant and only they had the passcards needed to gain entry. 

Tyran had refused to stow away his fathers armor and instead displayed it in a clear plastoid cylinder in their bedroom. When his son asked him what the armor was all Tyran could say was; a memory. And that's all it was, just a memory of a great warrior and perfect father. Someday when Ijaat was old enough Tyran planned on telling him what kind of life his father and mother had led when they were younger. He didn't want his son to become a soldier, he didn't want his son becoming another casualty of a war.

"_Tyr'ika_ time to come inside, dinners ready." Tyran's wife, Aru said. 

The transition from warrior to civilian had been hard on Aru, she was a Catharian and the art war ran in her veins. But like a true Mandalorian she gritted her teeth and moved on with her life. She still found it hard to not look for secondary exits when entering a room and eyeing other occupants for weaponry in their clothing. 

"Come on _Ij'ika_ time to eat." Tyran said plucking his son up off the ground and placing him on his shoulders just as his father had done with him on their farmland on Mandalore. 

Kuat was a nice place to raise a child and Tyran made a good living as a worker for Kuat Drive Yards, not as much as he had as a mercenary but still a good one. He placed his small son in a chair on the right of a durasteel table opposite of Aru and he took a seat at the head of the table. A chrome plated server droid hovered from the kitchen with several plates of nerf meat and glasses of fizzade. 

The next few hours flew by as Aru and Tyran watched their son shovel the meat into his mouth and splattering the gravy all over his face. Aru laughed and wiped her sons face. Thirty minutes later Tyran was sitting in front of a monitor watching a pod race feed from Malastare. Aru approached him from behind with a weary expression on her face. 

"Ijaat is asleep, in record time to." she said sitting down next to him. 

Tyran grinned and resumed watching his race. 

"Are you sure hiding his culture from him is a good thing." Aru asked. 

Tyran sighed and looked up at the ceiling, this question was a more occurring one in the household these days. 

"Yes I am, unless all you want to see your son lying in a pit with masses of other dead Mandalorians." Tyran said. 

"He doesn't have to be a Mandalorian, just teach him how to be a soldier and how to defend himself and use a weapon. He doesn't need_ beskar'gam_ to be a great warrior." 

"No Aru, I'm not teaching our son how to be a soldier and neither are you." 

"You can't hide it from him forever Tyran, he needs to know and might as well be now." Aru said. 

"Why are you bringing this up now, the past four years have been great and now you want me to train him. Why?" 

"I got a job offer Tyran and not a KDY one, the kind of job that I have avoided for ten years. It took all I had to say no." 

"Who made the offer." 

"Jaya did and she really needed my help." 

"If she needed help she could have gone to the BRC for it." 

"The BRC is under GA command and they aren't going to take time out of their careers to help out Jaya." 

"Well I'm not going to either, how long ago did you get the call?" 

"A few weeks ago." 

Tyran fixed his wife with a gaze that had made fully grown Gamorreans cry like a small child. After letting out a sigh he spoke. 

"You know where I stand _cyar'ika_. If you want to take the job go ahead I wont stop you. You made a big sacrifice for me and I owe you for it." 

"You don't owe me Tyran, I did it because I love you." 

"Then call your sister and have her meet you on Coruscant. Get your armor and weapons and do what you do best." 

"What about Ijaat?" 

"I can handle the little runt for a while, if going off to fight for some crooked politician will help you vent some steam then go and do it, plus you'll get to spend quality time with your sister." Tyran said. 

He got up and went over to a cabinet and grabbed a duraplast container and pulled a credit chip out of it. 

"Here is a few hundred credits, get in touch with Jaya and get this over with. The sooner you leave the sooner you get back here with me and _Ij'ika_." 

"You'll still be here when I get back right?" Aru asked heading up the staircase. 

"Yes, I'm not a soldier anymore and this is the only home I have. Just promise me that after you do this we're done with the Mandalorians." 

Aru didn't say anything she just nodded and walked up the stairs to pack. Tyran rested his head on the sofa cushion and stared at the ceiling and memories of battles with Yuuzhan Vong warriors, battles that would haunt him for the rest of his days. It wasn't the screams of dying men that bothered him, it was the quiet that fell over the battlefield long after it had ended and the stillness of the dead bodies. He woke up in a cold sweat most nights and would break down and cry until he couldn't breathe without feeling like his ribs would explode. 

He never wanted his son to have to go through that and never wanted him to bear the burden of hundreds of dead people on his conscience. He closed his eyes and hoped that the visions wouldn't continue he was going to need some sleep for tomorrow. 

Things didn't turn out like he'd hoped they would, flashes of dead comrades waved in front of his eyes, Saiijen, Alia, and Beluin all stared up at him with open unblinking eyes. Tyran reached down and to his surprise his hand was clad in the black and gold gauntlet that was part of his armor. His hand closed the eyes of his fallen comrades leaving trails of blood on their face. 

Saiijen was just a kid no more than seventeen and could imitate any accent and talk himself in and out of any situation. Alia was just as young as Saiijen and had been a gifted data slicer, Tyran found himself staring at her young face that was unnaturally pale as if she was his own daughter. The next person on the durasteel slab was a Zabrak and had a black rag tied around his forehead. Beluin Ululat was one of the BRC members and had died towards the end of the Yuuzhan Vong war and had been a longtime friend of Tyran since childhood. As he walked away from the slab he felt resistance and looked down to see an armored hand on his preventing him from leaving. 

"Tyran you sent us to our graves, you gave the order and like nerfs to the slaughter we obeyed." the disembodied voice of Beluin said. 

"No I didn't know the Yuuzhan Vong were right over the ridge the Intel was bad it wasn't my fault." 

"Bantha _osik_ Tyran you can blame the men in Intel or claim that you didn't know but you did and you still sent us." Jaleen Saiijen's voice chimed in. 

"No I didn't I swear to the gods that I didn't." 

"You turned your back on the Mandalorians because you cant live with the guilt of making a bad decision that costs three of us our lives." Alia Aiaji said. 

The next thing he knew he was surrounded by dead Mandalorians and Yuuzhan Vong bodies that were reaching out for him. Tyran woke up in a cold sweat staring into the face of his little boy who looked horrified. 

"Daddy what s wrong, who's Beluin?" 

Tyran looked around trying to figure out where he was, he was on the couch and it was daylight out. 

"Just a dream Ijaat, just a dream." Tyran said getting up and ruffling his sons hair. 

He walked into the refresher and splashed water on his face and looked into the mirror. The person looking back at him looked more like a ghost, a man weathered beyond his years and had seen and done way to much harm to others. He removed his shirt and through it in a bin near the door. His muscular midsection was disfigured by a long scar that started from just under his right pectoral muscle down to his left hip. 

He hated having to lie about his various scars to his son saying they were injuries sustained during his work with KDY. Tyran had another son out there, Jaiden, who was still a Mandalorian soldier living on Mandalore. Jaiden had been adopted by Tyran not long after the Yuuzhan Vong attack on Mandalore, his real name was Kanis Yiyna and his parents had been killed in the battle. When Tyran and Aru decided to leave the Mandalorians Jaiden didn't want to go and stayed with Tyran's little brother Rixa, a member of the BRC, to finish his training as a soldier. Over the years Tyran had kept in touch with Jaiden but hadn't heard or spoken with him for two years now. 

Ijaat walked into the 'fresher and stared at the scar across his fathers upper body. Tyran marveled at how human the boy appeared despite being half Catharian, the only resemblance to Aru, Ijaat had was his yellow eyes with a narrow slit down the middle and his sharp pointed nose. A grin spread across Tyran's face and for a moment he considered teaching his son the _resol'nare_, the six tenets of Mandalorian culture but thought better of it. 

"Where has mom gone?" Ijaat asked. 

"To go see an old friend on Coruscant, she'll be gone for a while so it's just me and you for now _ad'ika_." 

Tyran didn't think teaching his son how to speak _mando'a_ was a bad thing, it was a habit of Tyran to slip into speaking it by default so he felt his son should be able to speak it. 

"Are we going to go to Coruscant someday as a family?" 

This question caught Tyran off guard, Ijaat was prone to asking questions that went beyond his years. 

"Someday son, but not now the galaxy isn't a safe place. Coruscant isn't a safe place what with the hostilities between them and Corellia." 

"Is mom going to be alright then?" 

"Oh she'll be fine _Ij'ika_ don't you worry one little hair on your head about her." Tyran said squatting down to his sons eyelevel. "Trust me she'll be fine." 

Tyran went upstairs and threw on a pair of green cargo pants and a matching T-shirt. He stood in front of his fathers armor for a few moments and contemplated removing the cylinder and putting the armor on just for kicks. He didn't miss the fighting and the other things that went with being a Mandalorian but he did miss the feel of the armor on his skin and the weight of the gear he had to carry. His father had always told him during his training that one mans burden is another mans paradise. 

Indeed there were beings that loved the feel of killing and would look forward to getting a body count close to the one Tyran had massed over the years. But it was Tyran's burden to bare and his alone. After staring at the suit of armor for ten minutes Tyran left the bedroom and went downstairs. Immediately he sensed something was wrong, the front door was ajar and Ijaat would never go outside without one of his parents present. He defaulted to drill and pulled a sidearm, or so he thought, there was no holster strapped to his hip just an empty thigh pocket. 

"Looking for your sidearm Tyran? If you are you're wasting your time." 

Tyran wheeled his head around to see a man in green cargo pants, military issue boots and a jacket the same color as his pants. He was sitting on the sofa with Ijaat, who didn't seem scared at all. 

"Who are you?" Tyran asked moving closer. 

The man got up from the sofa and walked over to Tyran. 

"You don't remember me do you? Not surprised it's been awhile." the man said. 

He had short blonde hair and green eyes that seemed to be staring right through Tyran and into his soul. 

"I haven't seen anyone from my past for a very, very long time." Tyran said "I don't really want to either." 

"Not even your son?" 

"My son is over there on the couch." 

"Your adopted son." 

"What's wrong with Jaiden?" 

"Nothing, nothing at all." 

"Then why bring him up?" 

"Just wandering if you wanted to see me, that's all." 

Revelation dawned on Tyran, he was looking at Jaiden but ten years had really changed him. He no longer looked like a child who needed help but more of a lethal warrior. 

"Why are you here Jaiden I've turned away from the BRC." 

"I'm not here on the BRC's behalf, I'm here because Rixa needs your help." 

"Tell my little brother that if he needs my help tell him to come see me in person." 

"That's the problem _buir_ he cant, Rixa is being held captive by GA agents on Coruscant. They think that he's involved with some of the terrorist attacks on Galactic City." 

"Is he?" Tyran asked. 

"No and the BRC have been shut out of the Alliance network so they don't have any information on his current whereabouts and if he is alright." 

"Run his name through the inmate rosters of maximum security prisons and see if you get a match." 

"I already did that but it came up empty, Jaya went to go and find him and I think she might end up right along side him. From what I gathered she took Aru with her didn't she?" 

Tyran ran a hand across his forehead and glanced at Ijaat. 

"_Ij'ika_ go upstairs for a little bit." 

"Can I watch a holovid?" 

"Yes, you can watch one of those old war documentaries in my room." 

The little boy ran up the staircase to take advantage of a rare treat, it wasn't often he got to watch a war movie without his parents watching over him. 

"Jaiden tell me what you want from me." 

"I thought that would be obvious." 

"It is obvious but I was hoping that it would be something else." Tyran said sitting on the sofa. 

Jaiden sat across from his father. He stared at Tyran for a while. 

"Are you going to help me find Rixa or not?" 

"I…I don't do that kind of thing anymore Jaiden." 

"He's your brother and he could be in mortal danger." 

"He can deal with it himself then, the Yuuzhan Vong war all but broke my spirits." 

"You think you're the only Mandalorian who has scars from the Yuuzhan Vong war, mental and physical? Look at me, I lost both my parents, my brother and my sister. Your only brother could be getting tortured for a crime he didn't commit he needs your help." 

"I'm not a soldier anymore Jaiden. I gave it up, I don't want Ijaat to go through the things I did." 

"You haven't started to train him yet?" 

"He isn't thirteen, and even when he is I'm not going to teach him." 

Jaiden dropped his head into his hands for a few moments and looked back up to Tyran. "_Ijaat gar aliit, ijaat gar buir, ijaat gar vod bal ijaat ad _or was that just a bunch of bantha fodder?" 

Tyran had told Jaiden to honor his clan, father, brothers and sons that dreadful day on Mandalore a lifetime ago. 

"_Verd'ika_ it's not that I don't want to but I cant." Tyran said. 

"I only have one more thing to say then." Jaiden said getting up and heading for the door. "Don't do it for me, Rixa or the BRC. Do it for Ijaat, or do you want to tell him his mother was killed in a bombing on Coruscant and have to lie to him everyday. Could you live with that?" 

"_Nayc_." 

"Didn't think so." Jaiden said stepping outside "I'll be at the Kuat spaceport for the next eight hours in hangar 82B if you change your mind." 

With that final word Jaiden Numeck exited his adoptive fathers home contemplating his situation. Galactic Alliance Intelligence weren't the sharpest people in the galaxy but they weren't the dullest either. They could be very, very dangerous if they thought someone was a threat to them. No surprise they apprehended a Mandalorian for the kind of crimes committed against the Alliance. Tyran new that if Jaya and Aru crossed paths with them they would probably end up dead. 

Tyran wandered upstairs to check on Ijaat, the kid was lying on his parents bed watching a holovid of the Yuuzhan Vong war completely captivated by what he saw. Men and women clad in green flight suits with domed helmets engaged Yuuzhan Vong warriors in close quarters combat. Tyran recognized a few of them as members of the BRC. The man narrating the film had begun elaborating on the then New Republic warriors. 

"_The men and women known as Mandalorians train from the early age of thirteen in the ways of warfare. It was mostly because of this that they were a key instrument in the defeat of the Yuuzhan Vong invaders…"_

"Daddy I'm going to be a Mandalorian someday, I'm going to be the toughest one ever, even tougher than Boba Fett." 

"_Ij'ika_ you're already tougher than Fett." Tyran said slapping his son on the back. "What would you do if I told you that you were a Mandalorian?" 

Ijaat shrugged and went back to watching the holovid. 

"Have you heard of a man called Ruima Numeck _Ij'ika_?" 

"Only a little, he was a Mandalorian soldier wasn't he?" 

"_Elek_ _Ij'ika_ not only a soldier, he was your grandfather." 

Ijaat's eyes widened and he turned to look at his father. 

"What do you mean?" 

"I'm a Mandalorian, so is your mother or at least we were. We gave it up because we didn't want you to go through what we did. War is not an exciting event _Ij'ika_ it's much worse than these documentaries portray." 

"That suit of armor, is it yours?" 

"No, it's your grandfather's my armor is locked up in a storage facility on Coruscant." 

"Mom isn't going to see a friend is she?" 

"No." 

Ijaat looked down to the floor of the bedroom "am I going to be a soldier?" 

"That is up to you, when you are thirteen we can begin your training if you still want to." 

"Who was that man downstairs daddy?" 

"Your brother Jaiden, well your stepbrother. I adopted him in the early days of the Yuuzhan Vong war." 

"I have a big brother." 

"Yes, and how would you like to take your first ride on a starship and meet some of my old buddies?" 

"I'll start packing right now." 

"That's good, you have a sense of adventure one of a Mandalorian soldiers better qualities." 

The little boy ran happily down the hallway and into his room while Tyran pulled a comlink out of the dressers and dialed Jaiden's code. 

"_Verd'ika_ how soon can we get to Coruscant?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

_Lower levels of Galactic City ten years after the Yuuzhan Vong war_

Rixa Numeck sat tied to a chair and bleeding from several cuts across his face, which was also swollen and bruised. His lip was busted in more than one place and he was sure he had a concussion and when he breathed, he breathed in fire. It wasn't the first time he'd been interrogated by the boys from Galactic Alliance Intelligence, but it was the first time he'd been interrogated for crimes he didn't commit. Being a Mandalorian was their only reason for suspecting him and he knew it, they had no evidence of him being connected to any Corellian agencies of any kind.

Rixa had spent the better part of nine months tracking down Corellian terrorists for the Alliance and that was probably why they thought he was involved with the recent bombings. He'd been working alone and relaying all the information he'd received to his teammates in the BRC who would relay it back to the boys in Intel. They must have thought he was now working as a double agent and feeding valuable Intel to the Corellians. The door behind him opened up and Rixa heard four people enter the room.

"Major Tilix when will I be released?" Rixa said.

"You will be transported to the Kixla Maximum Security Prison on Fest after you give us the names of your Corellian contacts." the Major said.

"I don't have any Major, but I will tell you what I do have." Rixa said "I have a tight nit group of comrades who are going to look for me and when they find me you're going to wish you hadn't crossed me."

"If you're referring to the 'Black Rag Crew' or BRC as you call it, you can forget about it. We have them working near Jabiim and they have been completely shut out of the GA network, they're not going to be coming to your rescue this time." one of the Major's companions said.

He was an older man and seemed more like a politician than a military man.

"Rixa this is Senator Jamis, he is funding a covert mission to Corellia we're going to task  
your comrades with sometime soon. He needs to know what you told the Corellians."

"I didn't tell them anything." Rixa said "I don't think your familiar with a Mandalorian contract Major, when you enter an arrangement with a Mandalorian you are not only getting a top not military expertise, but you get total and utter loyalty until the terms of the contract are completed. I signed on to fight the Corellians for you and I haven't completed my job yet."

"You flipped on us soldier and I want to know what you told our enemies."

"For the last time I didn't say anything to any Corellians I work for you not for them."

"We'll see." Tilix said as he turned to the door and closed it. "Senator Jamis and I brought along two friends of ours, friends who specialize in pain distribution and we think you might get along with them."

"Why do I get the feeling that I'm not going to like them much."  
A grin spread across the Majors face and it only discouraged Rixa more.  
_  
Kuat spaceport ten years after the Yuuzhan Vong war_

Tyran slipped into an undersuit and began to attach his fathers armor piece by piece. The armor was a little tighter than his own set that was stored away but it still fit him just fine. In moments the suit of armor was in place and all that needed to be attached was the helmet and the kama. Tyran ran his gauntlet over the surface of the helmet and tried to experience some of the feelings other people had felt when looking into the dark T-slit visor. Ijaat came into the bedroom and eyed his father over with astonishment.

"You were really telling the truth about being a Mandalorian weren't you?" the small boy said.

"Yes I was _Ij'ika_ it's been a long while since I've worn the _beskar'gam_ but it still feels like it was only yesterday."

"_Beskar'gam_?" Ijaat said confused.

"It's what Mandalorians call their armor, it's our second skin."

"Why?"

"Because we spend most of our time in our armor." it wasn't Tyran who had supplied the answer, Jaiden had appeared in the hallway also fully dressed in his armor.

It was white with a red trim, even the visor was a dark red color.

"When do I get a set of armor."

"I know a man who could have you a set whipped up in a few days, we just have to take you to Mandalore." Jaiden said leaning against the door frame.

"Out of the question _Verd'ika_ I'm not going to put Ijaat in the hands of a stranger." Tyran said.

"_Verd'ika_?" Ijaat said quizzically.

"It's my nickname, it means little warrior." Jaiden said.

Ijaat just nodded.

"I don't think that your uncle Runi is a stranger he mostly sticks to his farm these days. The Vong war was hard on him to." Jaiden said

Tyran looked down to his little son "How would you like to take a trip to Mandalore?"  
A grin spread across his sons young face.

"Alright then _oya_!" Tyran said strapping on his helmet and then fastening the kama around his waste.

He opened a secure line to Jaiden in his helmets comlink.

"Who else do we have to work with, me and you alone aren't going to be able to take on the Intelligence department. From what you've said the BRC aren't going to be any help either."

"I have two associates willing to help us out and a few people owe me some favors."

"Anyone I know?" Tyran asked.

"A few."

Tyran shook his head and headed for the door, Ijaat and Jaiden followed him.

"Ijaat do you know what your name means in _mando'a_?" Jaiden asked his younger sibling.

For someone who'd only just met his older brother Ijaat didn't seem remotely wary of Jaiden and seemed to have a lot of questions.

"No I don't know what it means." Ijaat said.

"It means honor."

"Honor? Honoring what?"

"Anything, your father, siblings, family, your sense of duty, a deceased loved one things of that nature." Jaiden said.

Ijaat nodded and filed out of the room behind Jaiden and his father. It took Tyran a few minutes to get used to moving around in a full suit of armor, especially one that didn't fit perfectly. He climbed into the Aratech speeder that Jaiden had rented and ran a diagnostic of the suit's main systems. It had been in storage for quiet a while and Tyran wasn't sure if it would function perfectly. If it didn't it wasn't a big deal, Tyran could pick up his suit on Coruscant when he went to get his weapons. The scan came back positive and all of the suits functions were operational.

"Where to first _Verd'ika_? Mandalore or Coruscant?" Tyran asked.

"We can head for Mandalore first and drop Ijaat off at Runi's place and then go to the Oyu'baat to meet with the rest of my team." Jaiden said.

Tyran nodded "Sounds like a good plan, but when we begin our search for Rixa where do you purpose we start?"

"I say we get our hands on some blank identichips and send in two of our guys to a few of the most probable prisons on Coruscant. Once we get any valuable info we take it from there."

"How long has my little brother been MIA?"

"Four months."

"Then the GAI spooks aren't going to hold him there much longer I say they'll hold him for a few more months and then move him to some outer rim prison most likely the Jevelet Prison."

"Like I said before all of our searches for Rixa in the inmate rosters came up empty."

"Then he isn't in one of the prisons, probably being held in the Intelligence office."

"All the same I'd like to check out the prisons just incase he is there but isn't officially there." Jaiden said

Tyran nodded his head and reclined in his seat as his eldest son piloted the speeder towards the spaceport.

_Coruscant Entertainment District ten years after the Yuuzhan Vong War_

Aru peered out of her sisters apartment high up in one of Coruscant's many skyscrapers and marveled at the view. Galactic City was a wondrous place, if you were seeing it for the first time, Aru really hadn't missed the congested skylanes and overcrowded walkways that covered the city's massive expanse. But it was the most likely place to start a search for her sisters husband Rixa. The two Catharian Mandalorians had spent the better part of the day retrieving Aru's armor and weapons from the storage facility and trying to make nice with some of the troopers in the Galactic Alliance Guard that had been founded to protect Coruscant citizens from the Corellian terrorist attacks.

Jaya Nayic walked into the living quarters of the apartment still wearing her green armor and she looked defeated. Four weeks of searching for your husband did that.

"You okay Jaya?" Aru asked her older sister.

Jaya gave her a look that said it all and Aru shrugged and moved to the couch next to her.

"I hope that he is still alive Aru'ika, if he isn't I'm going to tear into some GA personnel." Jaya said.

"Hey don't forget who you're talking about Jaya. Rixa is one of the toughest Mandalorians I know, he spent a week in the hands of the Yuuzhan Vong and one of their war-coordinators and still lived."

"Only cause Tyran and the BRC came to his rescue, but Tyran has retired and the BRC are in no position to help. I don't think anyone is going to come riding to the rescue for Rixa this time."

"Well what are we doing?"

"Spinning our wheels just trying to find him."

"Are you sure that he isn't listed in the inmate rosters?" Aru asked her older sister.

"Positive Aru, he isn't listed the Alliance wouldn't make it that easy for us."

"We just have to keep digging Jaya, they could have him registered under an alias or something."

"If so it isn't one that I know."

"Think positive Jaya, we'll find Rixa…eventually."

"Yeah," Jaya said "eventually."

_Hyperspace route to Mandalore ten years after the Yuuzhan Vong war_

_Shink…shink…shink_ was the noise that Tyran was making as he ran a small beskar knife across the long blades on his forearm plates. He had his helmet off and Ijaat was inspecting the inner workings of it. Tyran turned his back to his son and hurled the knife at the opposing wall, it struck two inches above Jaiden's head as he exited the 'fresher. The yelp he had coaxed from his adoptive son made his grin as he pulled the knife, that was still vibrating, from the durasteel bulkhead.

"_Shab gar chaakar_." Jaiden said.

Tyran laughed and re-sheathed the knife in his kama.

"My aim must be off, because that seemed a little high to me."

The look Jaiden gave him only made him laugh harder and he grabbed his helmet from Ijaat.

"Why don't you teach that boy the resol'nare and spend your time more productively." Jaiden said sitting down in the pilots chair.

It was a moment Tyran hadn't been looking forward to but it had to be done, there was no hiding the fact that he was a soldier from Ijaat anymore and it was time he learned his trade.

"_Ij'ika_ repeat after me." he said to the five year old boy who seemed more than willing to oblige his father.

"_Ba'jur, beskar'gam_." Tyran started

"_Ba'jur, beskar'gam_." Ijaat replied perfectly

"_Ara'nov, aliit_." Tyran continued

"_Ara'nov, aliit_." the young boy said back.

"Good lad, _mando'a bal Mand'alor_."

"_Mando'a bal…Mand'alor_." Ijaat said.

"_An vencuyan mhi_."

"_An ven…vencuyan mhi_."

"Very good, now what that means is; education, our armor, self-defense, our tribe, our language our leader all help us survive. The six tenets all Mandalorians are to live by. As long as you wear the armor, speak the language, defend yourself and family, raise your children as Mandalorians, contribute to the welfare of the clan and fight for the Mandalore when called upon to serve. You'll be a Mandalorian, you can stray from time to time as I have but as long as you live a life by that guideline you'll be a great soldier and Mandalorian someday."

Ijaat soaked in every word that his father issued with the wide-eyed look of a child willing to please. He had just received the first in many crucial lessons of becoming a Mandalorian. Even though it was what Tyran had feared for five years and had tried so hard to prevent. He hadn't needed to teach Jaiden the _resol'nare_, he'd already learned it from his blood-father. Tyran found himself staring at Jaiden's new pristine white armor, other than the red trim, it had no markings or damage on it's surface.

"New armor _verd'ika_?" he asked.

"Top of the line," Jaiden said "the latest data-slicing programs, an uplink to the GAI mainframe so I can check the wanted adds, and a coating of heavy duty insulator. I could spend three months out in the wilderness on Fest or Hoth and be perfectly fine in this armor."

"All paid for by the GA right?"

"Spot on _buir_." Jaiden said with a grin "I have done some…consultant work for the government."

"I've been meaning to ask you something _verd'ika_." Tyran said taking a seat in the co-pilots chair.

"About what?" Jaiden asked turning to face him.

"About those favors people owe you, they aren't part of the GAI are they?"

Jaiden grinned.

"Not anymore."

_Javar's Cantina six clicks outside Keldabe, ten years after the Yuuzhan Vong war_  
Kial Volar sat in a booth eating a plate of fried eggs and a nerf steak, there was a pint of ale sitting in front of him to wash it all down. His long brown hair was tied into ten braids that hung the length of his head, most Mandalorians frowned upon it and considered it un-soldier like but Kial didn't care. Being an ex-BRC member didn't help his reputation much as the BRC wasn't the most popular group of Mandalorians. He went about his business eating his breakfast and watching a pod race being broadcasted from the lower levels of Coruscant. Until his contact arrived there wasn't much to do other than eat and enjoy the race. He heard the door open and looked over his shoulder to see who had entered.

Two Mandalorians in green armor had walked in and removed their helmets revealing the faces of two startlingly attractive women. One was named Ami Laylis and the other Niya Dinn, he wasn't surprised to see them here, they probably had a meeting with the same man he himself did. It didn't take to long for them to take notice of him sitting in the booth alone.

"_Su'cuy_ Volar why am I not surprised to see you here?" Laylis said.

She was about a head shorter than he was and had long brown hair tied into a tail and her emerald green eyes bore into him.

_If only I was younger_ Volar thought to himself.

"Ladies take a seat, our mutual friend shouldn't be much longer."

"You have a meeting with…" Laylis said.

Volar nodded and indicated the door, a man with pristine white armor and a red trim walked in.

"Jaiden." Volar said with a curt nod, "mind telling the three of us what we're here for?"

"Business as always Kial, fine I'll get straight to the point." Jaiden said taking a seat next to the ex-BRC member. "I need your help looking for someone, someone close to me. He was taken by GAI and accused of being responsible for a few of the terror attacks on Coruscant."

"Let me guess, Rixa Numeck." Volar said.

"How do you know?" Jaiden asked dumbfounded.

"Just because I'm not in the BRC anymore doesn't mean I don't keep tabs on my former colleagues."

"So you need our help busting him out of a prison correct?" Ami asked.

"It's never that easy." Niya said "You don't know where he is do you?"

"No, he isn't listed on the inmate rosters."

"How do you purpose we find him then?" Volar asked.

"Well that's the fun part, I brought in a special _interrogator_ to question the spook that you two are going to acquire for me, and we take it from there." Jaiden said to Volar and Laylis

"Don't tell that the special interrogator is who I think it is." Volar said to Jaiden.

"Yep." Jaiden said stabbing one of the nerf steaks on Volar's plate with his gauntlet vibroblade.

Volar laughed as he watched Jaiden chew away on the steak "sign me up then _verd'ika _sign me up."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

_Numeck Farmland on the outskirts of Keldabe ten years after the Yuuzhan Vong war_

Runi Numeck wasn't one for sentimentality but when he saw the black and gold armor that his older brother Ruima had once worn he thought he was going to have a fit. It had been a long while since he'd seen Tyran or any of his nephews since the war with the Vong ended, but the sight of his brothers' armor brought back memories both good and bad.

"Tyran, it's about time your sorry _shebs_ came to see me." he said as the eldest of the Numeck children approached him.

"Good to see you _ba'vodu_ I was wondering if I could ask you a question or two."

"Only if I get to ask you some first."

"Go ahead." Tyran said.

"Why are you in your fathers' armor?"

"How do you know it's not mine?"

"I'd know my brothers armor anywhere."

"Fair enough." Tyran conceded "Because mine is in storage and I guess you can call me nostalgic."

"Fair enough, why did you return to Mandalore?"

"Because my brother is in trouble and I'm here to help."

"Good answer, who is that little guy behind you?"

"My son Ijaat, I was wondering if I could leave him here with you while I go and interrogate some people?"

"Sure, how much does he know about his heritage?"

"Not much, I was hell bent on keeping him from becoming a soldier but then the whole Rixa affair came up and I couldn't hide it any longer. Can you make him a suit of armor?"

"Oh yes, when you get back from your interrogation your boy here will be quite the little mando'ad."

"Ijaat, this is your uncle Runi you're staying here with him for a little bit. He'll answer all your questions about Mandalorians and even make you a suit of armor." Tyran said to his son.

"Alright _buir_." Ijaat said.

"Well at least he can speak some _mando'a_ I was afraid you were well on your way to becoming _dar'manda_." Runi said.

"You can't keep a good Mando boy down now can you uncle?"

"No I guess not, especially a Numeck one." Runi said as he ushered the small boy inside his house.

Tyran grinned behind his helmet and turned on his heel, it was amazing at how fast his military training had returned once he dawned the _beskar'gam_. He couldn't help but feel like his uncle was watching him as he walked away and having flashbacks of missions with Tyran's father.

Tyran couldn't think about his father right now, he had to focus on finding his little brother and finding the GAI spook that had him captive. That was were he had to place all of his energy and time and the fact that he had the help of Jaiden and a few people who owed him favors only ensured he'd have the spook shortly. He hopped into the speeder and hit the accelerator. His uncles' farm was thirty minutes from Keldabe and Tyran needed to meet the rest of the team. Jaiden had been very secretive of who he'd picked to help him locate Rixa and bust him out of prison. It was beginning to bother the Mandalorian soldier, and it wasn't easy to get under this ones skin.

His ride to Keldabe seemed a lot longer than usual, it surprised him that he hadn't forgotten the route to Javar's Cantina, one of the more rowdy watering holes on Mandalore and rowdy to a Mandalorian wasn't like rowdy to most other people. When he finally arrived at the cantina he found himself more than a little nervous, a feeling he wasn't quite used to, at the prospect of walking into a building full of people who probably wouldn't be happy to see him.  
There's no time like the present…he thought as he exited the speeder and walked inside the cantina.

***

Volar's mouth all but dropped when he saw the black and gold armor, something not seen in these parts for a long, long time. He wasn't the only one who noticed, every other Mandalorian in the cantina was staring at the door at one of the heroes of the Yuuzhan Vong war. But being a hero didn't mean that he was a loved and cherished one.

"This better be some kind of joke on your part _ner vod_." a Mandalorian in green armor at the bar said turning towards Tyran.

"What if it isn't?" Tyran said turning towards the man.

_Oh for the love of Mandalore_. Volar thought Tyran hadn't even been in the bar five minutes and already there was about to be a brawl. He got up to intervene but Jaiden pushed him back down.

"Don't."

"What?" Volar said amazed "That's your father and he's about to get his shebs handed to him by four Mandalorians who've been drinking like a Weequay with a freshly cashed paycheck."

"Then let my father whip some sobriety back into them," Jaiden said looking over his shoulder "But if things get out of hand…" he jerked a thumb towards his father "Feel free."

Volar sat back down and ordered another ale, might as well have something to drink while the show starts.

"You've got ten seconds to remove that armor or we'll beat it off of you."  
The Mandalorian and his three drunk comrades began to form a circle of sorts around Tyran.

"It's only a set of armor, if you want to have it let me spare your time. It isn't worth anything really." Tyran said.  
That seemed to anger the four drunk soldiers more.

"That armor is a mockery of Ruima Numeck, you call it worthless but the man who wore it saved the lives of ninety six Mandalorian children when the Yuuzhan Vong attacked Mandalore."

"Then Ruima Numecks' oldest son goes off and decimates Yuuzhan Vong forces around the Outer Rim and then gets cold feet about the life of a Mandalorian. Last I heard the man was working for KDY."

"I know what Tyran Numeck did." Tyran said "I didn't get cold feet, I'd had enough of killing people and loosing friends."  
Realization dawned on the drunken soldiers face "You…you left your brother and comrades. You spat on your fathers name. You good for nothing _hut'uune_."

With that the leading drunk swung at Tyran who sidestepped the blow and caught the man in a headlock. With the skill of a professional Tyran pulled his sidearm and placed three shots into the drunken soldiers friends. They hit the floor with  
smoke rising from between their eyes. Tyran pulled his fathers helmet off and leaned in towards the mans ear.

"How does it feel knowing you're about to be killed by a coward?"

Then he twisted the mans neck and watched him fall to the floor lifeless. He caught a flash of white in the corner of his eye and noted Jaiden sitting in a booth with three armored and helmeted Mandalorians looking his way. He turned on his heel and walked back outside.

Volar, Jaiden, Ami Laylis and Nyia Dinn all got up in turn from the booth.

"Hey Jaiden, you asked us here so you get to pay the bill." Volar said moving for the door.

Jaiden frowned at the back of Volar's head as it disappeared through the door.

"Hey, who's gonna clean that up." the Cantina owner said pointing to the four dead bodies.

"You have a service droid don't you?"

The owner nodded.

"So don't worry about it."

Tyran was standing outside the back of when Volar approached him.

"I shouldn't of had to do that." Tyran said "They were helpless, drunks. I didn't need to kill them."

"But you did and there isn't much you can do about it now." Volar said.

"Did I ever tell you how helpful you were?"

"I'm a realist Tyran. No use in complaining when someone dies. There isn't much you can do to bring them back." Volar said not adding much help to an upset Tyran.

"But focus on the task at hand."

"Yeah, tracking down my brother if he isn't dead already."

"I don't remember you being such a depressed _chakaar_ during the Vong invasion."

"I still had a family then."

"You still do." it wasn't Kial Volar who spoke, but his adopted son Jaiden. "You have us_ buir_, you have the BRC. And Aru and Ijaat."

Tyran glanced at the three Mandalorians crowded around him. His sense of purpose came back to him, he was the leader of the Numeck Clan. It's oldest living member and he had a duty to fulfill. He had a brother to save.


End file.
